Meaning This has been a tough weekend for me. My sister, who has lived in Colorado for over a year, had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning. The doctor x-rayed her femur and told her it did not look good that she needed to go home immediately and get it checked out. So, she packed up her life that evening and flew home at 6 AM Saturday morning. Of course our minds immediately picture the worst (and it is pretty bad) but fortunately the additional doctors that have looked at the x-rays so far do no believe that it is cancer. We will know more in the coming days. No matter what it is, I'm sure surgery and a long recovery is ahead. I chose the word peak and a picture of Ajax Peak near Telluride, because of my sister. She is going to be missing the mountains and the snow. (It snowed today actually!) I hope that others who look at this picture think of the outdoors and adventures that they have had or beautiful vistas they have experienced. It sure is a beautiful world we live in!
Process I created this project using Photoshop CC. 1. Open a new document and set the size to 200 x 200 pixels. 2. Upload a picture (use File>Browse in Mini Bridge). 3. The picture will become a layer. Right click on the picture and choose Flatten Image. (This will make the picture the background.) 4. Right click to duplicate the layer. 5. Next, create a layer the color you want for the background (Don't feel like you have to settle on the exact color now, you can change it very easily later if necessary.) 6. Now it is time to create the text. Select the text tool from the left hand side. At the top of the screen chose a font and size. I chose Impact font, size 48 and selected strong (made it a little more bold). I wanted a little bit more space between the letters so that I could manipulate their shape to make the letters look more like peaks themselves. In order to do this, choose the Character option under the Window tab (top tool bar). You are then able to make many different changes to the letters. The VA spacing is the horizontal space between the letters, I set mine at 100. 7. To manipulate the text: in the layers box, right click on the text layer and choose Convert to Shape. Then, use the Arrow Tool to select each letter and manipulate it individually. The Path Selection Tool will move the letter as a whole, the Direct Selection Tool (both options of the arrow) will move individual pieces of the letter. 8. Once satisfied, it is time to make the letters be the picture. In order to do this, your layers must be in the following order (from top to bottom): Background Copy (step 4), Text, Solid Background color (step 5), then Background. Then right click on the Background copy layer and choose Create Clipping Mask. 9. Now, under the text layer you can apply different effects. I chose Bevel and Emboss, Inner Glow, and Drop Shadow. You can change each one of these effects to have different thickness, opacity, etc. 10. Then, for the solid background color I changed the effects to include an inner glow and texture. 11. Save your picture!
Choice When I originally thought about this project, I thought about choosing the word Math, since that is what I teach. I envisioned a blackboard as the background and then figured I would think about the letters later. Then all this happened with my sister and this new thought came to mind.
Meaning
This has been a tough weekend for me. My sister, who has lived in Colorado for over a year, had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning. The doctor x-rayed her femur and told her it did not look good that she needed to go home immediately and get it checked out. So, she packed up her life that evening and flew home at 6 AM Saturday morning. Of course our minds immediately picture the worst (and it is pretty bad) but fortunately the additional doctors that have looked at the x-rays so far do no believe that it is cancer. We will know more in the coming days. No matter what it is, I'm sure surgery and a long recovery is ahead. I chose the word peak and a picture of Ajax Peak near Telluride, because of my sister. She is going to be missing the mountains and the snow. (It snowed today actually!) I hope that others who look at this picture think of the outdoors and adventures that they have had or beautiful vistas they have experienced. It sure is a beautiful world we live in!
Process
I created this project using Photoshop CC.
1. Open a new document and set the size to 200 x 200 pixels.
2. Upload a picture (use File>Browse in Mini Bridge).
3. The picture will become a layer. Right click on the picture and choose Flatten Image. (This will make the picture the background.)
4. Right click to duplicate the layer.
5. Next, create a layer the color you want for the background (Don't feel like you have to settle on the exact color now, you can change it very easily later if necessary.)
6. Now it is time to create the text. Select the text tool from the left hand side. At the top of the screen chose a font and size. I chose Impact font, size 48 and selected strong (made it a little more bold). I wanted a little bit more space between the letters so that I could manipulate their shape to make the letters look more like peaks themselves. In order to do this, choose the Character option under the Window tab (top tool bar). You are then able to make many different changes to the letters. The VA spacing is the horizontal space between the letters, I set mine at 100.
7. To manipulate the text: in the layers box, right click on the text layer and choose Convert to Shape. Then, use the Arrow Tool to select each letter and manipulate it individually. The Path Selection Tool will move the letter as a whole, the Direct Selection Tool (both options of the arrow) will move individual pieces of the letter.
8. Once satisfied, it is time to make the letters be the picture. In order to do this, your layers must be in the following order (from top to bottom): Background Copy (step 4), Text, Solid Background color (step 5), then Background. Then right click on the Background copy layer and choose Create Clipping Mask.
9. Now, under the text layer you can apply different effects. I chose Bevel and Emboss, Inner Glow, and Drop Shadow. You can change each one of these effects to have different thickness, opacity, etc.
10. Then, for the solid background color I changed the effects to include an inner glow and texture.
11. Save your picture!
Choice
When I originally thought about this project, I thought about choosing the word Math, since that is what I teach. I envisioned a blackboard as the background and then figured I would think about the letters later. Then all this happened with my sister and this new thought came to mind.